“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it
is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be
under obedience, as also saith the law”.

This is a “take it or leave it” scripture for many
so-called Christians. But to many who truly seek for Truth, it is a
scripture that requires serious consideration especially in this day
when gender-equality policies of the world have so strongly
influenced many churches. When this scripture is brought into
discussion, many who disagree with it quickly try to look for other
scriptures which seem to support their view. But one issue needs
clarification here – if there is another scripture that supports
women preaching in church, then either the Bible contradicts itself
OR man, wittingly or unwittingly, misinterprets simple truth of the
Scripture.

In this message a list of different reasons used in
support of women-preaching in church will be examined in the light
of God’s Word. Even so, it is important to know that some Christians
caught up in this fallacy are sincere and have fallen into the error
either due to ignorance of scriptures or having an indifferent
attitude towards Bible doctrines. But sincerity does not define
truth as a person can be sincerely wrong.

I encourage you to approach this subject with an open
mind and examine the facts dealt with in this message objectively.
Let us examine whether Christians are walking in the light of God’s
truth or are completely deceived and deceiving others to damnation.
Let us bear in mind that when we are dealing with things that
concern The Word and Doctrine of the church of Christ, we are not
merely carrying out an academic exercise of analysing different
doctrinal viewpoints of people; The Word and doctrine concerns God
and what He desires of His Children. No matter how we claim to try
to please God; if we have no regard to His Word, our fate has
already been pronounced – “Because thou hast rejected the Word
of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee” (1 Sam.15:23).

COMMON VIEWS & SCRIPTURES USED TO SUPPORT
WOMEN PREACHERS

There are a number of excuses used by
women preachers to defend their position, and much of which are
exaggerated explanations of scriptures. Due to constraint of space,
only the usual and common points of defence shall be dealt with in
this message. These include the following:

1. The verse of 1 Cor.14:34 was written by
Paul to deal with a local problem which occurred at the church
in Corinth and is thus not applicable to all Christian churches.

If this view is correct, why did Paul in 1
Corinthians 14:34 emphasise his admonition by using the words
“as also saith the law” ? These words clearly
indicate that Paul was not introducing some new teaching or special
order suitable for just a particular local church but was actually
emphasising and reaffirming an already established order from the
Old Testament era of the Law. This can never be overemphasised as
there is no record anywhere in the Old Testament scriptures where
women were ordained to priesthood.

In verse 37 of the above scripture apostle Paul
further warns that, “If any man think himself to be a prophet,
or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto
you are the commandments of the Lord”. So, what we read in
1 Cor.14:34 is not Paul’s opinion but a commandment God gave
to Paul to be given to the church.

Here is another important thing to consider with
regards to the above argument of pro-women preachers: If Paul
forbade women to preach in the Corinthian church because of the
alleged problem the local church faced, then what is the meaning of
the same instruction Paul gave to Timothy to a church in Ephesus -
1 Timothy 2:11-14? Here are the words of the verse:

“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the
man, but to be in silence, for Adam was first formed, then
Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in
the transgression”.

In this scripture are words which in no uncertain
terms give the reason WHY GOD FORBIDS WOMEN TO TEACH THE WORD. The
explanation and reason given by Paul is clearly universal –
applicable to all human beings and their culture IF THOSE HUMAN
BEINGS DESCENDED FROM THE FIRST PARENTS OF MANKIND, Adam and Eve!

Notice the word “for” in the above
verse. It is a conjunction which means “because”. A person doesn’t
need a bachelor’s degree in English or Greek to understand this. So,
the simple reason being given by the scripture for women not to
preach is that Adam was formed before Eve and that she was deceived
and not the man.

Reminiscence

One day on a radio interview (Audio
CDs of this Interview are available),
two clergymen – one a lecturer at a Bible College and another, a
woman preacher – challenged this stand for 1 Corinthians 14:34
by stating the following:

2.The verse in 1 Cor.14:34 is applicable to the
culture of Jews or people of the East. And the doctrine should
not be taken as absolute but relative and is
subject to change with times and people’s cultures.

During the radio interview the Bible lecturer paused
this question with emphasis; “Is there
something really wrong in a woman for us to be able to think that
they can not preach?”

With all due respect to the Bible lecturer for a
college of Theology I must say that this question was supposed to
come from an atheist and not a man professing to be a teacher of the
Bible! In the first place that question should not be directed to me
but God. If anyone feels he knows women better than God, then
let him go on and challenge God’s orders. Perhaps the question
should be extended by asking God this; “Is
there something really wrong with a woman that she still has to bear
the pain when delivering a child during labour?”

Any sincere person knows the fact that women are
weaker vessels and easily fall for deception, sensationalism and
fanaticism. That is the simple reason why God can never put them in
a position of authority to lead men! (cf. 1 Peter 3:7).

Take note that Paul, when dealing with the subject of
women preaching in church (1 Timothy 2:11-14), gave reference to the
events of Genesis chapter 3 in which God had established the law to
put a woman under the headship of a man, after her deception by the
serpent. In Genesis 3:16, God said to the woman:

“In sorrow thou shalt
bring forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he
shall rule over thee”.

Two things are note-worthy in this verse:

Firstly:

If God has now forgotten about the headship of man over a woman and
that she now can hold the authority of preaching the Word, then WHY
does the curse of great pain in child bearing still occur on women?
Were not both the cursing and the giving of headship to a man
consequences of her succumbing to the Serpent’s deception? Therefore
if any person claims that the grace of God has now annulled the
forbiddance of women preaching in church let him explain why that
Grace hasn’t taken away birth pangs which were part of the judgement
God pronounced on a woman. And are not the verses forbidding women
to preach found in the New Testament of Grace? So, women preaching
in church can never be a fruit of grace but disgrace!

[NOTE:
Some theologians foolishly claim that a woman can be a preacher in
church and still submit to the headship of her husband at home. This
claim is a serious disregard and bypass of 1 Cor.14:34 which
clearly connects (and does not in anyway separate) the issue of
preaching in church and submission at home. How can a woman be a
preacher without usurping authority over men in her congregation? A
person can never be a preacher without possessing the authority of
His master to feed His flock. The ascension ministry of Ephesians
4:11 are positions of authority – not carnal authority of proud
men, but the authority to teach, expound doctrine and be a wise
guide, judge and steward in the household of God (cf.
Matt.24:45-46, Heb.13:17, 2 Cor.5:20).]

Secondly:

In addition to pronouncing birth-pangs on a woman,
God said to the woman that “thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee”.

Thus, God established the headship of man over a
woman right from that point. The question is: TO WHOM WAS THE LAW
ESTABLISHED – Hebrews, Arabs, Africans or Americans? Is it hard to
see that Adam and Eve were the first parents of all mankind? If a
theologian wants to dismiss the headship of man over a woman as a
mere cultural or racial custom, he or she must first establish what
race, tribe or culture Adam was. It takes simple common sense to
understand that even nature testifies that women folk should be
under the headship of a man. By nature they are weak and require the
strength and protection of a man. The trouble is we are living in a
world in which common sense is no longer common; truth now sounds
bizarre and nonsense sounds more appealing. What is more, the world
has not only lost the human sense of distinguishing the different
roles of a woman and man but people have become so stupid by now
engaging in same sex marriage where a man marries a man and a woman
marries a woman. Dogs are now more sober than creatures called human
beings; you will never see a male animal trying to meet another
animal of its own kind. In the next few decades, this insanity will
become so normal that even some churches will sanction it.

3.Galatians 3:28 says that “there is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one
in Christ Jesus”.

The above verse is usually taken to mean that God no
longer distinguishes between a man and a woman and so it no longer
matters to Him if a woman preaches.

Is it not surprising that all processes of nature –
the formation of starch in the green vegetables, the process of
respiring by all living things, the formation of minerals in the
earth – occurs by following prescribed processes (laws). Imagine
what chaos would be there if the chemical elements that make water
(two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen) also
demanded for “human rights” and wanted to have a feel of becoming
paraffin. What chaos would be there to the fish in the rivers, the
water we drink in our homes, the rain that waters our fields and
forests?! God has created everything in the state it is in for a
purpose. Try to challenge that purpose and one day you will wish you
had not taken the way that you have.

Now, if Galatians 3:28 should be literally
taken to mean that there is no difference between a man or woman,
then why can’t men also start becoming pregnant to share the burden
of women? If this sounds ridiculous, then the verse should be
understood in its proper context. Paul, in Galatians 3:28 is
explaining of how, through Grace, salvation no longer just belongs
to the Jews only and neither is it based on the preference of men to
women. In other words, anyone who sincerely repents and accepts the
Lord Jesus as his or her Saviour – whether man or woman, Gentile or
Jew – God will accept! The whole verse (beginning from verse
27) reads as follows:

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one
in Christ Jesus”.

Having stated the foregoing, it should now be clear
that this verse has completely nothing to do with women preaching in
church.

4. Women can preach because Joel 2:28 says that “it
shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy”.

Joel 2:28 is another scripture that is usually overstretched,
exaggerated and quoted out of context.

Some theologians take the word “prophesy” and generalise it to mean
“proclaiming God’s Word as in teaching or preaching”. Such people
have no reverence for God’s Word and would make it say anything they
want it to say as long as it satisfies their theological or
doctrinal appetites. If prophesying and preaching/teaching of God’s
Word is the same thing then how could Paul forbid women to preach
and then turn around and allow them to prophesy in church? Would he
not be contradicting himself?

One does not require a degree in Theology to understand the usage of
the word “prophesy” in the Bible. Its usage in the Bible – not
according to Oxford or other modern dictionaries – refers to the
act of God speaking using a person’s mouth or voice. The person
being used does not plan what to speak. It is God speaking using a
human vessel and that is why prophecy is often accompanied by the
words, “THUS SAITH THE LORD”. However, today there are so many false
prophets and prophetesses who mistake the anointing of God for their
self-made sensationalism and hysteria. But that does not rule out
genuine gifts which operate in some people.

Now, preaching on the other hand is different from prophesying; it
may involve planning and studying what you will preach or teach
about, using the wisdom God has given you. Of course one should
spend time in prayer and seek God’s inspiration. But yet, even when
God speaks to your heart about what to preach, you will use the
wisdom God gave you to plan and select the words you will use to
build up the sermon for the understanding of the people. Prophesying
on the other hand is strictly “THUS SAITH THE LORD”!

Here is another important thing to note: if the prophecy of Joel
2:28 meant that women shall become preachers when the Holy Ghost
comes on them, let us go to Acts chapter 2 and examine the events
which transpired when this prophecy got fulfilled on the day of
Pentecost and the years that followed recorded in the book of Acts.

When the Holy Ghost fell on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and
proclaimed to the crowd that;

“THIS is THAT which was spoken by the prophet Joel; ‘And it
shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy…’”

If what happened on the day of Pentecost fulfilled Joel 2:28 and if
the word “prophesy” has the same meaning as preaching or teaching
the Word, can anyone mention one woman who stood up and began to
preach as the result of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day
of Pentecost and the years that followed recorded in the book of
Acts? No woman preached following the outpouring of the Holy Ghost
in the entire book of Acts. The only thing we read is that of women
who prophesied as in the case of the daughters of Philip (Acts
21:8-9).

5. Phoebe, a woman, is referred to by Paul as a “servant
of the church” (Romans 16:1). Also Priscilla and Aquila are
mentioned to be helpers of Paul.

It is very sad to see how people can get to such extents of
overstretching scriptures in order to satisfy their egos and
ambitions. Theologians will read a statement like “Paul a servant of
God” in one place of the scripture, and then find another similar
word in a phrase like, “Phoebe a servant of the church” and then
equate the ministries of Paul and Phoebe. This is a very ridiculous
way of interpreting scripture. Let me illustrate:

If person X is described as B in a verse of scripture and person Y
is also described as B in another verse of scripture, does it make
person X and Y the same in every aspect, capacity and their roles?
If yes, try to make out this:

The sky looks grey
That cat looks grey.

Does the above statement mean “cat” and “sky” are ONE thing?
Ridiculous, isn’t it? But it’s how some educated theologians want to
read scripture. They will define a prophetess as “a female prophet”.
I wonder if they will define a prophet as “a male prophetess”.

I should state here that Phoebe was not a servant of the church in
the role of preaching the Word. Reading the whole passage explains
what Paul meant when he called her “servant”. Here it is:

“I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a servant of the
church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as
becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she
hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of
myself also”.

See, Phoebe was a servant of the church because her charity works
through which she succoured many. There are other examples of women
who fall in this category among which are Dorcas who was full of
good works and alms deeds (Acts 9:36) and the women who accompanied
Jesus and his disciples as they went about preaching the gospel.
These women, the Bible says, “ministered unto him (Jesus) of their
substance” (Luke 8:1-3). These women were probably engaged in
businesses and honoured God by trying to support the ministry of
Jesus through their substance. Such women can be called co-workers
in ministry but that does not make them preachers!

THE PLACE OF A WOMAN IN GOD’S FAMILY

There is certainly a wonderful place that God has kept for women in
his household. A woman in her rightful place is a great blessing.

·God can use elderly women to teach younger women the
right way to conduct themselves – “The
aged women…that they may teach the young women to be sober, to
love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste,
keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word
of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5). DOESN’T THIS VERSE EVEN MAKE IT
MORE PLAIN OF WHAT GOD EXPECTS WOMEN TO BE?

·A sober and virtuous woman takes pleasure and delight
in raising up children in the noble and sober way. God has given a
woman the blessing of the fruit of the womb, for a woman “shall
be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and
holiness with sobriety” and “her children arise up,
and call her blessed” (1 Tim.2:15, Prov.31:28). So as
apostle Paul admonished, let the women “marry, bear children,
guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak
reproachfully”(1 Tim.5:14);

·God can use a woman in a gift of prophecy as in the
case of Anna, the daughters of Philip and other prophetesses (cf.
Luke.2:36, Acts 21:8-9);

·God can use women in charitable works as in the case
of the women who accompanied Jesus – Dorcas and Phoebe (cf. Luke
8:1-3, Acts 9:36-39);

·A woman, like any other child of God, can testify of
what God has done for her and through that others may be edified and
some can even come to Christ – “And many
of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the
woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did” (John
4:39).

A spiritual man
doesn’t abuse his God-given headship over a woman but he loves and
respects his wife and together they relate as a bond of intimate
friends, raising their family in the happiness and joy of serving
the Lord. Husbands should love their wives and wives should respect
and submit to their husbands (Eph.5:25-29).

Now, here is another excuse that is usually used by women preachers:

6. Deborah was a prophetess and judge in
Israel (Judges 4:4); this shows that God allows women to be
preachers and teachers of the Word.

IS THAT SO? If it was God’s perfect
will for Deborah to become a judge and leader of Israel can someone
explain Isaiah 3:12;

“As for my people, children are their
oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead
thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.”

The above scripture
clearly points out the fact that when a woman ruled Israel it was a
shameful thing and only indicated that the nation of Israel was
backslidden! And this is exactly so for Deborah became a Judge in
Israel when Israel was backslidden and left the ways of God. So, how
can any spiritual person point to the permissive will of God in
letting Deborah rule Israel when Christ has come to restore us to
the perfect will. This is no different than trying to justify
polygamy simply because men like David or Solomon had many wives in
the Old Testament. The Old Testament people were living in the
permissive will of God because of the fallen nature of man. But in
the New Testament of Grace the Lord Jesus Christ came to restore the
perfect will of God. The Pharisees in trying to justify divorce,
simply because Moses permitted it, had the Lord Jesus tell them
this:

“Moses because of the hardness of
your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the
beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put
away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put
away doth commit adultery” (Matt.19:8-9).

The issue of Moses
permitting divorce or God permitting men to marry more than one wife
was not different with the issue of Deborah being a judge in Israel.
She became a judge at a time when Israel was fallen in sin (Read
Judges 4:1-4). And as Isaiah 3:12 indicates, when a woman ruled in
Israel it was considered a shame and not the perfect will of God.

7. God used women as evangelists; for
example, the women who announced the resurrection of Jesus
Christ and the woman at the well who went about testifying of
what Jesus had done to her (Matt.28:5-7, John 4:1-39).

People who use such explanations to
justify women preaching either lack sincerity in their explanations
or respect and reverence to God’s Word. How can any sincere person
equate giving a testimony to preaching and teaching the Word? When
the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) was discerned by the Lord
Jesus and He revealed her troubles, she went about testifying of
what the Lord Jesus did for her. As stated in the foregoing, every
child of God (whether man or woman, boy or girl) is free to testify
of what God has done for him or her! When the people heard of the
Samaritan woman’s testimony, many came to Jesus. Did that make her
an evangelist? If a person has been sick of cancer and gets healed
of God and then testifies to her family of how true God’s power of
healing is, by which they get converted and become Christians, will
that make her an evangelist or pastor. Was she preaching or simply
narrating what God has done for her? Similarly did the announcement
of Jesus’ resurrection by the women to the disciples make them
preachers? What were they preaching and teaching about? To suggest
that the Samaritan woman became a preacher when she testified
portrays, not only an extreme case of trying to twist scripture to
suit one’s views but also, a lack of simple and intelligent
reasoning. If giving a testimony of what God has done makes a person
a pastor or evangelist then there is no meaning to the words
“pastor” or “evangelist” for every child of God has something to
testify about the goodness of God in his or her life!

AND HOW ABOUT WOMEN PREACHERS WHO SEEM TO BE
SO SPIRITUALLY GIFTED IN HEALINGS, PROPHECIES
OR MIRACLES?

Although we live in a time of much falsehood,
fanaticism and fake prophets and prophetesses, I believe that there
have been women who rose up in the early days of the American
Pentecostal movement with genuine gifts of healings. Many times an
anointing of prophecy could genuinely come upon a woman, but as
pride and ego took a hold of that person she would begin to think of
going further than just prophesying but also teaching the Word.
Although the gift could operate, it does not mean God sanctioned it.
Through time many women preachers have arisen especially in the
Pentecostal movement. Strange as this may seem, the Lord Jesus
already warned us about this in Matthew
7:21-23:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity."

So, having a gift is one thing and using it in the
proper way according to the will of God is another. Every man shall
be judged according to what he or she has made of the gift of God –
from the basic gift of life that we all have to the different
spiritual gifts God has given us (Read 1 Cor.3:8-15).

In conclusion,

God is a God of order. He has made the sun to shine
during the daytime and the moon during the night time, yet the moon
has never complained of why it is thus. This is simply because the
moon has also a special role which the sun can’t do because it is
not meant for the sun. Can you imagine how life would have been if
everything else wanted to be anything else? Disorder
and chaos will be the order of things. It’s only among human species
of all the things that God created that you find female species
wanting to be males, and vice versa.

May you keep
yourself pure from the falsehood, deception and fanaticism that is
so rampant in this day we live in is my prayer.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches” (Rev.2:7). And “if any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed.” (Gal.1:9)

If through this message, you are feeling a conviction in your heart,
God’s Word is admonishing you not to harden your heart – “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
heart” (Psalm 95:7-8,
Heb.3:15).